


The fate you carved on me

by Hagar



Category: Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Developing Relationship, Episode: Boxed In, Episode: Team Spirit, Episode: The Tengen Gate, Gen, Inter-Team Dynamics, Late Night Conversations, M/M, PR: Dating A Teammate, PR: Retired Ranger(s) To The Rescue, Snark, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 15:25:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hagar/pseuds/Hagar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And I thought my team was bad. I thought <i>Casey</i> was bad. But then there is you guys. And, of course, you just had to be Samurai. You realize I am never going to hear the end of it.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The fate you carved on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/gifts).



> Love and gratitude to Sailor Sol and wildforce71, friends and beta-readers.
> 
> There's a throwaway _Constellations_ ref (or two) in this story, but you absolutely do not need to know _Constellations_ for this one.
> 
> Story title from Vienna Teng's song, _Gravity_.

“No, Emily, Mike was right,” Jayden said. “You are the best. We’re just so happy to see that you’re okay.”

“And I’m trying to decide whether I’m happy to see that you all are okay, or whether I’m mortified that you are even Rangers,” said an unfamiliar voice.

The team and Ji turned around as one. A man was standing at the line of the screen door railing, arms crossed on his chest. Asian descent, no taller than any of them, and similarly built, too, which could be either awesome or bad, depending. Calling his age was hard. 30 give or take five, Antonio thought.

“I swear,” the stranger continued, “And I thought my team was bad. I thought _Casey_ was bad. But then there is you guys. And, of course, you just had to be Samurai. You realize I am never going to hear the end of it.”

 _Team?_ Antonio wondered. But, of course, Kevin had to get in first.

“Excuse me, who are you?” he demanded.

“The latest data point proving that Greens cannot keep to their own affairs,” the stranger retorted. As he spoke, he fingered a chain hanging on his neck and pulled out a bulky pendant that had been hanging under his shirt.

“The Saito amulet,” Ji said in amazement.

Jayden startled. Antonio glanced at him; he didn’t seem happy.

“Saito?” Jayden repeated, as surprised as Ji. “But the Saito line…”

“Had stopped talking to all your ancestors when they decided to proceed with incomplete morphers improperly designed to balance a dual power,” the man - Saito? - said, as if agreeing. “And I am calling this feud off, because just because grandmother to the fourth degree Hiroshi has a mean streak doesn’t mean I am going to stand by and watch you all try to sell your souls.”

“Sell your souls?” Emily demanded.

Everyone winced, Mike worst of all.

 _Busted,_ Antonio thought. And if there was some schadenfreude, then well; the others had earned it, and Emily could get away with pointing out to them just how stupid that plan had been.

“Look, Emily, we weren’t…” Mike began.

“What does he mean by - were you going to _go nighlok_ to get my spirit back?” Emily demanded.

Kevin pointed at Mike. “It was his idea.”

“Mike!”

Mike winced even harder.

“Emily,” Jayden said. “If we can do this in one moment?” He turned back to the newcomer. “Are you really Saito?”

“And if you are a Samurai, why do you swear by the Elements?” Kevin demanded. “That’s a ninja thing.”

“I’m the fortieth bearer of the Saito line amulet,” the man said. “I am the son of Miko Saito, thirty-ninth bearer, and Kanoi Watanabe, the late head of the Wind Ninja Academy.” He pointed at Ji and said, more sharply: “Shove that prejudice where it belongs. I can practically hear you thinking.”

This was going nowhere good. Antonio pushed himself to the front of the pack and plastered on his most golden smile. “Okay, I don’t care about any feuds. If you can help then I’m glad you’re here, and I’m sure Jayden feels the same.” He very carefully didn’t look back at Jayden. Jayden would just have to not be an idiot this time. Antonio stuck out his hand. “Hi. Antonio, Gold Samurai Ranger.”

Cam shook his hand without hesitation. “You’re not from one of the Families.”

“Nope,” Antonio replied cheerfully. “I just wasn’t going to walk away from Jayden here. And you’re from the Blue Bay Harbor team.” It was a guess, but Cam had suggested that he was a Ranger and Kevin - who did know what he was talking about, even if he was full of himself sometimes - had said _ninja._ And Cam had said: “Green?”

“Yes.”

“I’m also the guy with the plan that wasn’t going nighlok,” Antonio added.

“At least I know who the brains of this outfit is.”

“Hey!” Mike and Kevin protested, simultaneously, and then immediately put an extra step of distance between them.

That, of course, was when three more strangers rounded the corner of the hallway - they needed some human-oriented security around this place - dressed in what even Antonio could tell were leather ninja suits. They were two men and a woman, about the same age as Cam - and the trims on their suits were red, blue and yellow.

Oh, this was going to be _good._

Cam rolled his eyes as if praying for patience. It was, Antonio thought, as if he knew who was behind him and what the smiles on their faces looked like. _  
_

The man in red leaned his elbow on Cam’s shoulder. “Is he giving you trouble?” he asked the team.

“Go away, Shane,” Cam said irritably, but his attempt to shake off his Red's arm was half-hearted at best.

“Dude, did you crash a birthday party?” Yellow demanded. “Damn, we should have brought presents.” He stepped right up to Emily, entirely ignoring Antonio and Jayden, who were standing ahead of everyone else. Mike tried to step in front of her, but Emily put her arm out to hold him back.

Yellow smiled. “Hi, I’m Dustin. I mean - happy birthday!”

“Thank you!” Emily said. She reached up to hug him, which Dustin accepted naturally, hugging her back. “I’m Emily.”

“Tori,” said Blue. She elbowed Red.

“Shane,” he said. He finally removed his arm from Cam’s shoulder, and stepped up to offer a hand to Jayden, who accepted it reluctantly.

“Jayden Shiba, eighteenth head of the Shiba line.”

“Do me a favor, try to keep him in one piece, all right?” Shane jerked his thumb behind his back, in the direction of Cam.

“Excuse me?” Cam demanded indignantly. “I’m not the one who…”

Shane rolled his eyes, but his expression was decidedly fond. He looked, Antonio realized with a start, not unlike the way Jayden did when Mike had deliberately done something to spite Ji again. Even if Cam seemed to have a temper worse than Kevin’s, for all that he had immediately recognized Antonio’s genius.

Speaking of genius.

“I have an idea,” he said loudly. “Since today is Emily’s - and Clawzord's - birthday, why don’t you guys join the party. I think we have enough cake for everyone.”

Dustin brightened up. “Did someone say ‘cake’?”

Cam quit his tirade and sighed. “Ladies and gentlemen: defenders of the galaxy.”

 

* * *

 

With the team gone to the Tengen Gate, Cam and Ji were left alone, staring at each other across the room.

“If you have something to say, then say it,” Ji said.

“You and Jayden had had that conversation before. About the Black Box, and Antonio. And please don't try to lie, we both know that you did.”

Not for the first time, Ji thought that Cameron Miko's Son combined ninja shrewdness with samurai boldness in the most annoying ways. “Yes, we did.”

“So you brought it up today with the intention of having his team talk him into what you couldn’t make him do.”

“It is for the best. He was being stubborn -”

“He was being a _Red._ Human, too, but I realize you care more about the former than the latter.”

Heat rose in Ji’s cheeks. It was not only the words, but the disinterested tone in which they were said. “You have some cheek.”

“I have some experience,” Cam corrected. “My father was our team’s mentor. He’s a great teacher, but there were things he just didn’t know.”

“About being a Samurai.”

“And about being a Ranger.”

“He is a battle commander. His first duty is not to protect them, it is to _use_ them.”

“He’s a Red. His first instinct is to keep his team alive, at all costs. The rest of us would be happier if Reds had a similar regard to their own lives, but one after the other, Red Rangers have proven that they will stop at nothing to protect their teams.” He considered Ji. “You would not risk the others so easily. You would not manipulate Jayden into potentially sacrificing any of _them._ But you don’t like Antonio.”

“He’s not a real Samurai,” Ji said defensively. It was a lie, but he didn’t want to tell Cam the truth.

“Did you just seriously lie to me for the second time in the same conversation?”

Ji’s lips thinned. “He isn’t good for Jayden.”

“How do you even - no, forget it, I don’t want to know.”

“He’s a distraction and a -”

Cam strode forward, getting in Ji’s face in five long steps. “Do that to him again, even _try_ to do that to _either_ of them again, and I will see to it that you can never harm either of them again, I swear by my mother’s sword.”

“What gives you the right?” The House Saito family had outranked House Shiba once upon a time, but that had been centuries ago.

“I’m a Ranger.”

“I raised him.”

“You raised a machine. And when he disobeys, you would use his own team against him.”

Even through his anger, Ji could tell that there was something different in Cam’s voice. Anger, yes, and disdain, but also something more. _You would use his own team._ The morphers were supposed to give the Rangers more than a power boost, Ji knew, but the Order of the Tengen Gate were not the keepers of that knowledge; it was passed down from one Shiba Head of House to their heir, and so neither he nor Jayden had access to that knowledge.

But Cam might know.

Ji swallowed back his anger and his indignation. “Then teach me. I raised him. He trusts me. Teach me.”

Cam considered him for a long moment, and then took a single step back. “That won’t help if you won’t listen.”

And that, Ji knew, was as much of a _Yes, I will teach you_ as he was ever going to get out of Miko Saito’s son.

 

* * *

 

The Black Box glowed gold. Antonio finally gave in to his shaking knees and fell forward. “There, formatting’s done.”

Cam kneeled next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Earlier, that had made Cam’s amulet - which Antonio has been wearing throughout this process - spike and deliver a power boost. Even now it soothed away the worst of the shaking, but they’d just had Antonio do what even the first Shiba Red did not have strength enough to do, and they were only going to be able to push at this so much.

Ji inspected the box. And because he was such an encouraging ray of sunshine, he said: “Now comes the really dangerous part: infusing the Black Box with everyone’s symbol powers.”

“That’s where we come in,” came Kevin’s voice, loud and clear.

Antonio turned his head; the other four emerged from the hallway leading to the recovery room. They looked well; it was impossible to believe that only an hour ago Antonio had had to call for a teleportation evac because he couldn’t even rouse them. Behind the four, Antonio could see Tori and Dustin, leaning against the wall, looking - well, looking as if they had just been hard at work, using their ninja powers to heal the team’s battle injuries.

Antonio really had no idea what everyone else had against ninjas.

Kevin continued. “Antonio can’t take this all on himself. We need to help each other. Especially since Jayden’s gone.”

 _Jayden._ Antonio’s breath hitched, like it did whenever he thought about it, about Deker walking away with an unconscious Jayden slung over his shoulder.

Cam squeezed his shoulder gently.

The alarm blared.

Antonio blinked away the tears. He had no time for this. _Jayden_ had no time for this. “What do we do now?” he demanded.

Mia sighed. “Well, I know what Jayden would say.”

“At all cost, protect the innocent,” Kevin completed.

Antonio pushed himself up. “Great, you guys go take care of the nighlok, and I’ll go after Jay-”

“No,” Ji said firmly. “You must finish the Black Box.”

“I _can’t,_ ” Antonio said exasperatedly. For someone who had been a Samurai all his life and who was supposed to be a master of lore, Ji was so dense at times. “Right now it’s only infused with Shiba power. I need their power disks to complete this, and they’re taking them into battle!”

He shouldn’t have said that. Emily stepped forward and put her disk in his hand. “Here; it’s yours.”

Mia was right behind her, and Mike next to her. Kevin had come around Antonio’s other side. All of them handed him their power disks.

“Are you guys serious? How can you defeat the nighlok without these?”

“Well, this brings back memories,” Tori said.

That had the whole team turn around to where she and Dustin were standing.

“Did you go to battle without your weapons, too?” Kevin asked.

“No, they went into battle without their _powers,_ ” Cam said.

“You mean we piloted our zords without powers,” Dustin said helpfully.

“I think he was trying to forget that part, Dustin.”

“Thank you, Tori.”

“You did what?” Mike asked. “That’s crazy.”

“Well, you see, dude, Lothor kinda stole our powers and -”

“And that’s a story for another time,” Cam said, cutting off both his teammates. He sounded even more peeved and irate than the usual, but he squeezed Antonio’s shoulder again before he continued. “They’ll hold. For a while. So let’s stop wasting time.”

The rest of the team was still looking at him. “Well, go on,” Antonio told them. “Get out of here. I have work to do.”

 

* * *

 

“You would’ve sacrificed everything before giving Octoroo the Sealing Power,” Deker said softly. “There’s a spirit inside you I’ve never found before in any other samurai, a warrior spirit. And that’s why you’re the perfect opponent.” And at that, he drew his sword and flared into his nighlok form.

Jayden would much rather not have this fight, but Deker was insistent and Jayden couldn’t die just yet. He summoned his own sword.

“Go ahead,” Deker said. “The first move is yours.”

 _What is this, chess?_ Jayden thought irritably.

He didn’t get to make that move, though, because a voice shouted “Hold on!” and then Antonio was standing before him, spreading his arms to block Deker. “This isn’t going to happen on my watch. Jayden, you’re in no shape to fight.”

 _I’ll manage,_ Jayden thought, but he didn’t get to say that, either, because Antonio demanded of Deker: “How can you want to duel him when he’s like this, nighlok? My friend and I are walking out of here, and you’re going to let us, got it?”

Deker snorted. “You are no samurai, fisherman.”

“Do you want to repeat that to my Barracuda Blade?”

“Swordfighting is not what makes a man a samurai. Neither is symbol power.”

“Because you’re an expert.”

“I am destined and bound to fight a samurai in the ultimate duel; then yes.”

“Antonio,” Jayden protested.

“No, Jayden, I got this,” Antonio said steadily.

“Fond of your little servant, Red Ranger?”

Jayden pushed forward, fever be damned. “He is _not -_ ”

“Easy, Jay, he’s just trying to -”

“Do they lie to you, fisherman? Do they tell you pretty lies about how you belong, and what a good friend you are? They will sacrifice you at the first opportunity, mark my words.”

 _Even the first Red Ranger couldn’t do it; it’s too much power,_ Jayden had said.

 _The Black Box must be completed,_ Ji had replied.

Jayden closed his eyes.

“It is you who lie, nighlok,” Antonio said steadily. He looped Jayden’s arm over his shoulders. “Come on, Jay. We’re getting out of here.”

“Fine,” Deker snapped. “But know that the next time we meet, we _will_ battle.” And he vanished.

“Antonio,” Jayden started.

“Hold that thought, Jay.” Antonio tapped his morpher. “Cam, you there? Because we could really use another teleport here.”

 

* * *

 

Antonio glanced up at the rattling sound. He’d thought everyone had gone to sleep hours before; they did have a long day.

Everyone, it turned out, but Cam, who sat down on the stool next to him and poured them both tea.

“You know, sometimes I think Mike is right and you really do believe you can fix everything with tea.”

“Tea and tech genius.”

Antonio huffed and accepted his cup. “That makes two of us.” He gestured at the scrolls he was studying. “Damn thing still won’t work.”

Cam made a face. “All our lives would be easier if Shibas weren’t too damn proud for help.”

Antonio snorted. “And you can say that again, too.”

It was a moment before Cam asked: “What did Deker say?”

Antonio glanced up at him, startled. “What?”

“Deker said something today,” Cam said evenly. “And it hit home, so it couldn’t have been all lies.”

“It was.”

Cam looked at him.

“He just spewed more of that crap about how I’m not a real samurai.”

Cam continued to look. One of his eyebrows twitched up, just a touch.

“And how the team would sacrifice me at the first convenient opportunity,” Antonio continued, reluctantly. _How Jayden would._ But Jayden wouldn’t. Even when Jayden had been an idiot and tried to reject him, he had only done it to try and protect Antonio.

Something shifted in Cam’s expression. He put his tea down.

 _That’s not a good sign,_ Antonio thought.

“Ji would have you complete the Black Box. Even if it killed you,” Cam said, overriding the _I know_ that Antonio had almost said.

Because no, actually, he didn’t.

“What?”

“Just this morning, Jayden said that the power demands are too great a risk, and Ji manipulated the rest of the team to manipulate Jayden into agreeing to let you do this.” Cam’s smile was very thin. “Ji forgot to take me into account.”

Antonio put down his own cup before it would fall from his suddenly-shaking hands. “But -”

“This is not about whether or not you are a samurai. This is about you and Jayden.”

“But I love Jayden!” Antonio protested.

“Yes. You do.”

The words hung between them.

 _I love Jayden._ Had he actually admitted it out loud to anyone else, before?

“Ji doesn’t care how you love him,” Cam said quietly. “He only cares that you do. That to you, he is _Jayden,_ and that Jayden may come to see himself reflected in your eyes. And Ji believes that that may destroy Jayden’s father’s plan.”

“That’s stupid,” Antonio protested. He was too tired; he had to blink away tears. “How can he think that?”

Cam sighed. “Probably because it’s true. But that man is out of our reach. Though, I am rather gratified to say, not out of my mother’s.”

“But if…”

“Shane crossed the first threshold into the Dead Lands for Hunter, and dragged him back. Casey, that’s the Jungle Fury Red, walked into the enemy temple alone, twice. The first with his spirit torn and unable to morph, to rescue his team. The second, for a man who wasn’t even team. What you are to Jayden is more likely to save everyone than that plan.”

Antonio looked away. “I don’t have any right to him.” He could say this to Cam, because Cam would talk him out of it. It felt good, to be able to admit it. “We don’t have anything in common.”

“You see him. That’s right enough. That, and he wants you.”

Antonio turned his head back to look at Cam.

“Now finish your tea. And then we can try to unfuck this thing.” He gestured at the Black Box.

Antonio snorted. His hands were stable as he picked up the cup. “Tea and tech genius, huh?”

Cam pointed to a tupperware box Antonio had so far failed to notice. “And my cousin’s granola.”

 


End file.
